Producer/rapper J Dilla was born on this day, 43 years ago in 1974. The Detroit native rose to fame as the kind-of assistant producer on A Tribe Called Quest‘s fifth album, The Love Movement, and went on to produce stunning music with Common, Slum Village, and Erykah Badu, among countless others. He died of lupus in 2006.
He was known for tapping an extensive sample collection, which included influences such as late composer David Axelrod, who died on Sunday. Pete Rock referred to J Dilla as a “producer’s producer.”
Feed your ears and your spirit with the late great’s best work today. Here are some of his top tracks, according to J Dilla enthusiast and friend of mine, Eman Jeddy: